Counting Ingredients, Not Calories

I’ve heard people saying lately that counting calories should not be a concern. I always thought the way to lose weight IS to count calories. What gives? ~Deb, MA

“Count ingredients and chemicals, not calories.”

Calories in, calories out, right? Not so much. I personally used to say this all the time. It didn’t matter where it came from, as long as you weren’t consuming more than you’re burning. Well, it turns out I was wrong, as is this way of thinking. If that were true, you’d be the picture of health consuming 4 Cokes a day and a bucket of peanut M&M’s (I like to keep it classy). Your body and skin will certainly not look the same consuming a days worth of calories that way versus having a bowl of oatmeal with berries for breakfast, an organic chicken wrap at lunch, and grilled fish tacos at dinner. Calories = Energy. The energy you get from food varies greatly depending on where that food came from and how it was prepared.

Sometimes it’s not as obvious that you’re eating junk though. We all know that Coke and M&M’s aren’t slimming foods. You may be thinking to yourself duh, I wouldn’t eat that! Unfortunately many products on the market that are considered food have just as many harmful ingredients, but just packaged up and marketed a different way. They may have a label like “no sugar” or “high fiber” or “guilt free”. “Guilt free” reminds me of someone saying “no offense”. You know whatever they’re going to say after that starts with a “but” and then something offensive. Guilt free is a loaded claim. It’s totally not guilt free. It’s just trying to make you feel better.

Eating fibrous foods will satisfy your need for fiber, and eating protein rich foods (such as fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes, and meat) will give you the proper protein requirement. What you don’t need to do is buy a carbohydrate rich food in a box with a label that reads “added protein and fiber”. That’s not natural or the way that food was intended, and the energy is going to be different. If eggs had a label that read “enriched with carbohydrates” the egg business would go bad in a hot minute. Appreciate foods for what they offer, naturally.

When we hear people say you don’t need to count calories, it’s because they are referring to eating a diet that consists of natural, whole foods. Foods that come from a tree, grow from the ground, and have not been altered (much if at all) by a human being. Our body recognizes what’s natural, and processes it well (with the exception of course if someone has celiac disease or a food allergy). Unless portion control of these wholesome, natural foods is out of control (did you really put down 5 heads of broccoli and 10 sweet potatoes?) then it is very likely you will feel good, look good, and not have so many cravings.

But, let’s face it, we live in the 21st century. We are presented with products and packaged foods all the time (and we’re so busy!), not all of which are terrible for you, and in moderation. That’s part of the problem–there’s so much to choose from, and how do you know the good from the bad? I’ll provide some examples on what to look for at the grocery store the next time to steer clear of the nasties (because let’s be honest, you may as well just grab those M&M’s).

The best choices we can make overall is to eat foods that are not from a box. When they are, the less the ingredients the better! And organic when possible. Yogurt (as seen above) should really just have milk and active cultures in it. Not fake sugars, coloring, and aspartame. Peanut butter snacks should be free of hydrogenated oils, and chips should not contain monosodium glutamate (aka MSG). Counting chemicals over calories becomes should be the overriding decision before calories. Just because it’s low in calories does not make it low in chemicals.

Did you used to eat certain foods before and have switched because of the ingredients? Do you have some healthy favorites to share? Please let me know in the comments below!

Comments

Great post, and so informing! I used to eat pretty badly, although I wasn’t even aware it was that bad! It’s not until you educate yourself and actually ready the back of the packets that you realise just how much fake, nasty ingredients are in those foods. The list is endless of what I’ve cut out of my diet. One of them only quite recently being sauce from a jar! I make exceptions for the odd treat or meal out, but other than that, I try keep it as simple and healthy as possible 🙂

Thanks, Louise! It’s amazing how many ingredients are in most packaged foods, and how easy it is to overlook until we become educated on the detrimental effects it has on our health! Good for you for cutting so many of them out! I love that you stopped buying sauce from a jar too 🙂 That was one I personally was proud of since a whole new world opens up how many we create ourselves at home quite easily! Can’t wait to check out your site now too! X

Packaged Food just makes me gag! I eat foods that have at most 5 ingredients and I make sure I know EXACTLY what everything is! I will NOT touch corn starch, fructose, trans fats, dairys, soy, other sugars, etc etc…. Ugh! I HATEEEEEE how these ingredients can sneak into pretty much EVERYTHING!

Trackbacks

[…] Burning more calories than we consume is what affects our total body weight to decrease. We burn calories when we are sitting at our desks at work, reading, and sleeping. We burn a lot more when we partake in a vigorous workout. But, regardless of how often or vigorous the workout, eating more than (or the same as) you burn will not whittle your waistline. However, a calorie is not 1:1 when comparing calories in an apple to the same amount of calories in a mini bag of chips, and here’s why. […]

Hi! I'm Leah, thanks for stopping by! The field of health and wellness is my passion, so I have created a space to answer your health questions all while filling you in on my own personal journey along the way. I am a daughter, wife, sister, new mom, dog mommy, spinner, yogi, traveler, and chocolate lover. I am a certified Holistic Health Coach and if you have a question you want a real-girl answer to, just ask!
"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." - Jim Rohn